The Case

In Robin Hood: Quest for the King, the famous Prince of Thieves sets
out to restore King Richard to the throne, outwitting the evil Sheriff of
Nottingham and the fey King John. The Prince and the Pauper: Double
Trouble is the Mark Twain story about a royal child who switches identities
with an impoverished look-alike. The Three Musketeers: Saving the Crown
gives us the story of D'Artagnan and his sister, Kitty, and their adventures
with the famed sword wielders.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with the cartoons on this set,
there's nothing inventive or special about them, either. The scripts are pretty
straightforward, with the usual "quirky" characters you'd expect to
find in kids' entertainment like this. The main characters are the usual
assortment of wolves, foxes, lions, and cats, with the occasional sheep, mouse,
or other mammal tossed in as extras. The various animal renderings pop up from
cartoon to cartoon, so the hero in the Robin Hood episode becomes a supporting
player in the Prince and the Pauper adventure, and Maid Marian plays
D'Artagnan's sister in the Musketeer story.

On the up side, we get the classic stories in their classic settings. This
is not "Prince and the Pauper in the 25th Century" or "Robin Hood
in Space." These are also not loaded down with tons of pop-culture
references or questionable humor.

The animation is decent, but the characters have that unnatural CG look, and
their movements not very fluid. For children accustomed to playing video games,
this might not seem like much of a liability. Backgrounds are rendered nicely,
and there's a good attention to detail.

It would probably be helpful if children were already familiar with these
stories before watching, as the cartoons take a few plot shortcuts and don't
always introduce the characters thoroughly; it seems that these are geared
toward kids 8 and older who have heard of the Musketeers and Robin Hood. Younger
children might have some trouble following the plotlines, but they'll likely
enjoy the action and comedy scenes.

Each cartoon runs around 50 minutes. All three are housed one disc. The
full-frame picture is fine, the stereo audio (English or Spanish) perfectly
acceptable. There are no extras or chapter stops.

The Verdict

While not the greatest compilation, these cartoons are perfectly respectable
for giving kids something to watch on a rainy day. Through in a little
background on the stories, and these become semi-educational.